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USA Gymnastics, the sport’s national governing body, said Thursday the 2012 Visa Championships will be held in St. Louis on June 6-9, 2012, at the Chaifetz Arena on the campus of Saint Louis University.

The annual Visa Championships determine national teams and national champions. The 2012 event will feature both men’s and women’s gymnastics.

The St. Louis Sports Commission, the host organization for the four-day event, partnered with Chaifetz’ management company, Global Spectrum, to produce the region’s bid this spring. Tickets for the 2012 event are set to go on sale next year.

The competition is televised on NBC Sports and Universal Sports.

The Visa Championships have been held in St. Louis only once before, in 2000, when it preceded the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The championships played a role in determining the U.S. Olympic team that year, the St. Louis Sports Commission said.

The 2012 Visa Championships lead into the U.S. Olympic Trials and the London Olympics. “As an organization dedicated to celebrating St. Louis’ Olympic legacy, we’re honored to have the opportunity to host the nation’s top gymnasts prior to the 2012 Games in London,” said Sports Commission President Frank Viverito, in a statement.

USA Gymnastics also announced Thursday that the 2011 Visa Championships will be held in St. Paul, Minn., next fall. The 2011 event will include rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline and tumbling; details on the 2012 national championships for those events will be announced later, the organization said.

The 2010 Visa Championships take place next week, Aug. 10-14, in Hartford, Conn.

The St. Louis Sports Commission is a privately funded, nonprofit organization that works to benefit St. Louis by attracting, creating and managing major sporting events in the region.

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